The Vows He Must Keep

He shuffled the cards again, dancing them easily between his hands with the lightest touch. She watched his movements, transfixed by how effortlessly he manipulated the deck. The man was good with his hands...

Clearing her wandering thoughts, she sat up straighter. ‘I used to play without chips with Hermione back in college. We sat up all night, creating this stupid game where you get a forfeit instead of chips, while we were supposed to be studying for exams.’

‘A forfeit?’ His eyes met hers across the table. ‘Like Truth or Dare?’

‘More like Truth or Lies. You have to ask awkward questions and try to get the other person to lie or refuse to answer. But be warned: I’m pretty good at this.’

The premise of the game was simple enough: a crazy mix-up of various card games that only Hermione could have concocted. Each player had the chance to steal cards by challenging the other to answer a question or make a statement, then determining if the answer was the truth or a lie. The problem was, as the game went on for a few rounds, Dani realised that some of the questions Valerio was asking were quite inappropriate.

‘How many lovers have you had?’ he asked boldly.

Dani answered honestly, praying she didn’t blush with embarrassment as she admitted she had only ever been with Kitt. Valerio’s eyes burned into hers, widening with disbelief as he decl

ared it a lie, and she shook her head, taking her share of his cards as her forfeit.

‘How many lovers have you had?’ Dani asked when it was her turn, trying and failing to keep a straight face.

Valerio pursed his lips, counting the fingers on both hands, then reaching for a pen and jotting down some sums. ‘Let me see. Carry the two...multiply by seven... Roughly in the low hundreds.’

‘Okay, well, I’m just going to say that’s true.’ She shrugged, pretending not to care about his answer.

‘Lie.’ His eyes sparkled as he took her cards. ‘I’m actually quite discerning about who I take to bed, despite the tabloid rumours. You have a low opinion of me.’

Dani smirked. ‘Well, what is the number, then?’

‘Ah-ah, that’s not a part of the game.’

He laughed as she groaned her annoyance.

‘What’s your biggest fear?’ he asked on the next turn, his gaze strangely focused on her and a slight curve to his mouth. He was enjoying this, she thought.

‘That’s an easy one. The open sea,’ she said easily, schooling her features.

When he guessed that she was lying, she shook her head, grabbing yet more of his cards.

‘You’re serious? You work at a yacht charter company and you’re afraid of the open sea?’ He let out a bark of laughter.

‘I’m just afraid of swimming in it—not sailing. I don’t like to sail myself, but I trust the boats.’

She sat back as they played another hand, feeling his eyes on her the entire time. The next time her turn came up, she felt the effect of the wine kicking in, along with a new sense of bravado. She asked him some questions about his childhood, his decision not to join his father’s company—everything she could think of that she’d always wished to ask.

‘What’s your most shameful secret?’ he asked on his next turn, laughing when she grimaced at his question. ‘You know the rules: you have to give an answer or you forfeit.’

‘Well, unlucky for you, that’s an easy one for me.’ She met his gaze, throwing out her best poker face. ‘I have never had a proper orgasm.’

His brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing on her for one intense moment before they widened in a mixture of surprise and anger.

‘You have to say if you think it’s true or false,’ she said, but she was instantly regretting her flirty answer, wondering what on earth had possessed her. ‘Or we can just move on.’

The air was still and silent between them, except for the sound of insects chirping and waves crashing against the cliffs nearby. She pursed her lips, sitting up and flicking her hair over her shoulder.

‘Forget that one. I’ll give you the cards and let’s just move on.’

A long exhalation escaped Valerio’s lips. Dani looked up to see his hands in tight fists on his lap.

‘Madre di Dio. I knew that pompous lawyer was beyond useless. You actually believe that you are somehow defective because of that idiot?’

‘It’s not always the man’s fault, Valerio. And it’s kind of a sensitive subject,’ she said tightly. ‘Draw your next hand, please.’ She heard the ice in her voice—it was a sore subject for her. But she wasn’t about to discuss it over some stupid card game.